How to Write the Results and Discussion Sections (and Their Difference)

Results and discussion are the two most frequently confused chapters. In short: results answer "what did I find?"; the discussion answers "what does it mean?"

The results section

Here you present your findings without interpretation.

Order

• Present results in the same order as your research questions or hypotheses.
• Give each subsection to one question or hypothesis.
• Report descriptive statistics first, then inferential analyses.

Tables

In APA style, tables are numbered, the title sits above the table and vertical lines are not used. Do not repeat every value from the table in the text; describe the key result and refer to the table: "As shown in Table 3…"

Statistical reporting

APA 7 reports the test statistic, degrees of freedom, p value and effect size together:

• t(98) = 2.45, p = .016, d = 0.49
• F(2, 147) = 5.12, p = .007, η² = .07
• r = .34, p < .001

Values that cannot exceed 1 (p, r) are written without a leading zero: .05.

The discussion section

Here you interpret your findings and compare them with the literature.

Structure of a good discussion

1. Restate the main finding in one clear sentence.
2. Compare with the literature: which studies agree, which disagree?
3. Explain: possible reasons for agreement or disagreement (sample, cultural context, instrument).
4. Implications: what it means for theory and practice.

Repeat this cycle for each main finding.

Conclusion, recommendations and limitations

• Conclusion: a short overall summary
• Recommendations: concrete suggestions for practitioners and future researchers
• Limitations: constraints arising from sample, method and instruments

Common mistakes

• Interpreting or citing literature in the results (unless your institution uses a combined "Results and Discussion")
• Presenting new findings in the discussion
• Hiding non-significant results
• Interpreting correlation as causation

Results and discussion with Academiana

Academiana’s statistics tool runs t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, regression, chi-square, Cronbach’s alpha and more on your CSV or Excel file with real calculations, returning APA-formatted tables and sentences. The AI never produces numbers. The chart tool draws APA-style figures, and the "Develop discussion" action compares your findings with the sources in your project.